1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a weight management system including a web application service and a body worn activity monitoring device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Obesity in humans in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world, is reaching epidemic proportions. Desk-bound occupations, long commutes, cheap and convenient fast food, over-sized food portions, increased television watching, and decreased exercise have all contributed to bulging waistlines.
It is difficult to open a magazine or turn on the television without seeing an advertisement for pills, creams, or home exercise equipment, all promising to help the desperate consumer lose weight. In spite of the billions of dollars spent annually on these products, obesity rates continue to rise.
What these products ignore is the simple fact that if the amount of calories ingested is greater than the amount of calories burned, there will be a weight gain over time. Similarly, if the amount of calories burned is greater than the amount of calories ingested, there will be a weight loss over time. Measuring and displaying the amount of calories burned through physical activity provides useful information to the user.
Devices for measuring activity have been around for years. The pedometer, a device for counting the number of steps taken, has been around for hundreds of years but can be notoriously inaccurate. A number of devices on the market today attempt to count the amount of calories burned throughout the day, but are based upon the classical work-energy theorem or gross estimations with body weight. At least one of the goals of the present invention is to provide personalized accuracy and relevance, based on the user's individual biometrics and living environment.
In addition to the devices on the market, devices and methods for measuring and displaying physical activity are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,788,655, 6,810,349, and 7,075,537, as well as PCT publications WO 2006/121758 and WO 2007/143095, the entire contents of each being expressly incorporated by reference herein.
A critical component in burning calories, and thus weight loss, is maintaining an elevated metabolic rate. Jogging 30 minutes several times each week, for example, is helpful in burning calories by elevating the metabolic rate for that period of time. However, performing a number of smaller motions throughout the course of the day maintains an elevated metabolic rate and burns as many or more calories than a half-hour of jogging. Yet for a variety of reasons many people may go for several consecutive hours at work, for example, without so much as standing up from their desk. Prolonged sedentary behavior dramatically reduces a person's metabolic rate, thereby slowing the rate at which calories are burned.
At least one of the goals of the present invention is to provide a device that monitors inactivity and proactively alerts the user of prolonged sedentary behavior to prevent a drop in their metabolic rate.
The art referred to and/or described above is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is “prior art” with respect to this invention. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. §1.56(a) exists.
All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below. A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. §1.72.